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Young artist inspired by Usborne comic book
Nothing makes us happier at Usborne than seeing children enjoying our books – and it was an extra special moment when a young artist showed us his Dr Diapers comic inspired by Usborne's Write and Draw Your Own Comics.
Dr Diapers is the creation of eight-year-old Francesco (or Frankie) Terrington, who developed a love of writing and drawing his own comics since receiving the Usborne book. He also took inspiration from the Captain Underpants film to create his own underwear-sporting hero who arrives just in time to save the world. Dr Diaper’s adventures include putting a fire out by peeing in his diaper and throwing it at the flames and saving the school from a squad of vampire chickens!
Frankie was keen to meet the people behind Write and Draw Your Own Comics – and he was very excited when the opportunity to come into the Usborne office arose! With the rest of his family, Frankie got to meet Russell Punter and Freya Harrison, the design team behind Write and Draw Your Own Comics, and Lauren Nickless, who created the printed Dr Diapers comic.
Russell showed Frankie his current project: a new graphic novel based on The Hound of the Baskervilles, and explained a little about how a comic book is created, from early layouts and roughs to final colour pages.
The best bit was to come though, as Frankie was presented with a Dracula graphic novel – and a box of printed copies of Dr Diapers. And he wasn’t allowed to leave without signing a few copies of his comic book for star-struck fans!
Frankie went on to sell an incredible 86 copies of Dr Diapers – and raised an impressive £91 in total, which was donated to Usborne's official charity Amnesty International.
Frankie and brother Robert selling copies of Dr Diapers for charity
Designing Usborne Write and Draw Your Own Comics
An Usborne book goes through several stages before it is ready to be published. Below you can see how a double-page 'spread' in Write and Draw Your Own Comics evolved from its early design to the final version:
Inspired to create your own comic strip? Write and Draw Your Own Comics is packed with handy hints and tips on creating graphic storylines and characters.
About the Author
Matt Bugler is Usborne's Digital Editor. He's loved helping bring the Usborne website to life, and is particularly focused on the Books, Activities for Kids and Blog sections.
